By MICHAEL BARBARO

Published: November 13, 2006

The upscale department store Nordstrom, which has taken a chance on up-and-coming designers like Tory Burch, Rachel Roy and Phillip Lim, is now betting on a different set of rising stars: musicians.

Beginning this holiday season, the retailer will develop and sell a collection of CDs that, over time, is expected to rival the one carried by its corporate neighbor in Seattle, Starbucks.

The move, which Nordstrom is scheduled to announce today, appears to be the first instance in decades of a national department store making a serious commitment to music, a business long ago ceded to specialty retailers like Tower Records.

But one by one, those stores have closed or filed for bankruptcy as music has moved online, creating an opening for traditional merchants to jump back into the business. The CD market may be shrinking, these retailers argue, but consumers still purchase millions of them every year -- and might prefer buying them at stores where they already shop, rather than making a separate trip to a music outlet.

In an interview, Peter E. Nordstrom, the president of merchandising at the department store (and the great-grandson of its founder), said, ''The traditional way people bought music in the past is clearly changing. We want to take advantage of the fact that we have a lot of customers coming through our doors that the music industry is interested in.''

The Nordstrom music collection, to be sold online and in stores, will comprise established bands, like the Beastie Boys, and relatively unknown artists, like Jamie Cullum, the British jazz performer.

At first, the department store will sell roughly 20 titles, a figure that could reach 50 in 2007. Eventually, Nordstrom may construct listening stations that play the CDs inside its 156 stores in the United States.

The goal, Mr. Nordstrom said, is for the merchant to be ''considered a tastemaker'' in the music industry, much as it is now on Seventh Avenue. ''We are not getting away from our core business, but this is a logical extension of the fashion business.''

Nordstrom executives admit they are a bit late to the music party. The Gap, Pottery Barn, Williams-Sonoma, Whole Foods and even the Sunglass Hut have developed small music collections that, theoretically at least, reflect the tastes of their customers.

Then there is Starbucks, which has emerged as a powerhouse in the music industry (and now the book business). A collection of Ray Charles songs, called ''Genius Loves Company,'' released in 2004, won several Grammy Awards and sold 800,000 copies at the company's coffeehouses.

But department stores have remained wary of music, tuning it out altogether or carrying a handful of CDs in a single department, like juniors.

''Why have we not tried to do this?'' Mr. Nordstrom recalled asking his colleagues after visiting Starbucks and Pottery Barn stores. So Mr. Nordstrom, who plays bass in a band called The Mellors and owns a small music label called Loveless Records, reached out to his friend and music executive, Michael E. Barber, founder of the Barber Entertainment Corporation.

Together, the pair developed a set of CDs -- some exclusive to the chain, others widely released -- that would suit Nordstrom. (Classy, fashionable and hip, according to the company, which already serenades shoppers with a piano player in its stores.)

They chose Vanessa Hudgens's ''V,'' Justin Timberlake's ''FutureSex/LoveSounds,'' John Mayer's ''Continuum,'' the Beastie Boys' ''Paul's Boutique,'' and ''Disney's Family Christmas Collection'' -- each carried in an age-and-gender-appropriate department of the store.

The company said it would also offer two exclusive CDs: an introduction to music by Mr. Cullum, and a compilation of songs by Marvin Gaye. An exclusive Chet Baker CD could come as early as next year. Prices range from $12 to $25.

It could prove a tough business, at least at first. At clothing chains like Hot Topic, a mall-based store aimed at teenagers, CDs have been slow to take off, analysts said.

Just how big could the music business become at Nordstrom, which is best known for its fashions and footwear? The company said CD sales would provide a relatively small but steady revenue stream.

''We would not be doing this,'' Mr. Nordstrom said, ''if we did not think there was a chance to sell some product.''

Photo: Nordstrom's offerings will include a jazz CD by the British artist Jamie Cullum.